Sports
Arteta encouraged as leaders Arsenal end Fulham jinx | The Express Tribune
The Gunners are three points clear of second-placed Manchester City in the title race
LONDON:
Mikel Arteta said Arsenal’s 1-0 win against Fulham was an encouraging sign for the Premier League leaders as they ended their recent struggles at Craven Cottage.
Leandro Trossard’s close-range finish in the 58th minute secured Arsenal’s fifth successive victory in all competitions.
The Gunners are three points clear of second-placed Manchester City in the title race, with champions Liverpool four points behind prior to their clash with Manchester United on Sunday.
Arsenal took just one point in their away fixtures at Newcastle and Fulham, and at home to West Ham, last season.
This term they have already recorded nine points from nine in those matches and their victory at Craven Cottage was a first in three visits to the west London club.
Arteta believes that those wins are a significant statement of intent as Arsenal — runners-up for the last three seasons — look to win the title for the first time since 2004.
“The recent history wasn’t in our favour and we wanted to change that, like we did against Newcastle and West Ham at home,” Arteta said.
“And this is another step to having that mindset and that ability to win these kind of matches against a really good opposition, and a really difficult place to come.
“When the context is 0-0, and the game gets longer and longer, it becomes more difficult. But we showed a lot of maturity. We kept knocking on the door in various ways, and in the end we found a way, with the set-piece to do it, but we deserved it.”
In the moments after Trossard’s opener, Bukayo Saka looked to have earned a penalty when he was upended on the corner of the area by Fulham substitute Kevin.
Anthony Taylor pointed to the spot but VAR ruled that Kevin touched the ball before taking out Saka.
Arteta, who was visibly frustrated on the touchline, said: “I was getting animated because it was taking so long.
“I asked Anthony ‘why it was taking so long’. It was nothing to do with the process, it was just that the screen wasn’t working.
“It probably wasn’t a penalty so they made the right decision in the end, and I was just animated because of the process.”
The only sour note for Arteta was Sweden striker Viktor Gyokeres’s failure to find the net for a seventh consecutive game.
Signed from Sporting Lisbon in the close-season, Gyokeres is struggling to make an impact in the Premier League after his prolific form for the Portuguese club.
“He was very close again today. We were all begging for him to score,” Arteta said.
“The work rate he puts in for the team is phenomenal. We try to give him support and the love, and it will come.”
Sports
Stats behind Spurs GK Kinsky’s shocking early sub off vs. Atlético
Goalkeeper Antonín Kinsky suffered a nightmare UEFA Champions League debut for Tottenham Hotspur against Atlético Madrid on Tuesday after being substituted just 17 minutes into the round-of-16 tie after conceding three goals and committing two huge howlers.
The Czechia U21 international’s performance was so humiliating that former England and Spurs keeper Joe Hart, calling the game for TNT Sports, said he was “heartbroken for the lad” after coach Igor Tudor hauled him off following his disastrous start.
Kinsky’s substitution ties the earliest a goalkeeper has ever been replaced in the knockout stages (Gregory Coupet, Lyon, 2004 round of 16). Tottenham’s 3-0 deficit after 15 minutes was the earliest that a team had been so far behind in a Champions League knockout-stage match, and their four goals conceded in 22 minutes were the second fastest in Champions League history (Real Madrid vs. Dinamo Zagreb in November 2011).
Kinsky, 22, had been handed his first appearance since a 2-0 Carabao Cup defeat at Newcastle United last October by Tudor, who had dropped first-choice Guglielmo Vicario after the Italy keeper had conceded 13 goals in a five-game losing streak.
But a slip by Kinsky gifted Marcos Llorente the opening goal for Atléti on six minutes, and a minute after Antoine Griezmann made it 2-0 on 14 minutes, Kinsky mis-kicked a clearance to allow Julián Álvarez to make it 3-0.
Tudor then replaced Kinsky with Vicario and the Spurs coach refused to look at the young keeper as he left the pitch.
“I’ve been trying to make sense of it,” former Spurs, Manchester City and England keeper Hart said.
“My heart is absolutely broken for [Kinsky].
“He had a horrible 14 minutes, that slip and the third goal. I don’t know what to say. I am just heartbroken for the lad.”
Paul Robinson, also a former Spurs and England keeper, echoed Hart’s comments while calling the game for BBC Radio Five.
“Wow, wow, wow!” Robinson said. “I have never seen that on a football pitch. What a huge call from the manager Igor Tudor. Yes, the goalkeeper was at fault but that is confidence destroying for Antonín Kinsky.”
Fiorentina goalkeeper David de Gea, a longtime starter for Manchester United, chimed in on X in support of Kinsky.
“No one who hasn’t been a goalkeeper can understand how difficult it is to play in this position,” he said. “Keep your head up and you will go again.”
Sports
ICC denies unfair treatment of squads stranded in India after T20 World Cup amid Middle East crisis
Cricket’s governing body on Wednesday rejected suggestions of unequal treatment after the West Indies and South Africa squads were stranded in India for more than a week following the T20 World Cup.
Airlines have cancelled or rerouted flights because of the war in the Middle East, throwing international travel into chaos.
Cricket West Indies said on Tuesday its squad had waited nine days for a charter flight that was “repeatedly delayed”, calling the uncertainty “increasingly distressing”.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan also criticised the situation, noting on social media that England departed 36 hours after their semi-final exit last week while the West Indies and South Africa remained in Kolkata more than a week after being knocked out of the tournament.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) said it “rejects any suggestion that these decisions have been driven by anything other than safety, feasibility and welfare”.
“We understand that players, coaches, support staff and their families who have completed their ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 campaigns are anxious to return home,” it said in a statement.
“That they have not yet been able to do so is a source of genuine frustration, and the International Cricket Council shares that frustration.”
It also said there was no comparison between arrangements for South Africa and the West Indies and those made for England, “which arose from separate circumstances, routing options and different travel conditions”.
All members of the South Africa contingent are expected to leave within 36 hours, the ICC said.
South Africa’s World Cup ended on March 4.
Nine West Indies players and staff were already travelling to the Caribbean, with the remaining 16 booked on flights departing India within 24 hours, the ICC said.
West Indies exited the competition on March 1.
Sports
Bangladesh Choose to Bowl First in Opening ODI Against Pakistan – SUCH TV
Bangladesh national cricket team won the toss and elected to bowl first against Pakistan national cricket team in the opening match of the three-match ODI series at the Shere Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Wednesday.
Three-Match ODI Series
The remaining matches of the series will also be played at the same venue in Dhaka on:
March 13 – Second ODI
March 15 – Third ODI
All matches are scheduled to begin at 1:15 PM Pakistan time, with the toss taking place at 12:45 PM.
Three Debutants for Pakistan
Pakistan captain Shaheen Shah Afridi confirmed that three players will make their ODI debuts in the first match:
Sahibzada Farhan
Maaz Sadaqat
Shamyl Hussain
The trio will receive ODI caps 255, 256 and 257, respectively. Farhan and Sadaqat will open the batting, while Shamyl Hussain is expected to bat at number three.
Pakistan Confident Ahead of Series
Speaking before the series, Afridi acknowledged Bangladesh’s strong home record but expressed confidence in Pakistan’s preparation.
He said the team is well prepared and highlighted Pakistan’s recent ODI series victories against South Africa national cricket team and Sri Lanka national cricket team at home.
Head-to-Head Record
Pakistan have historically dominated the ODI rivalry between the two teams.
Total ODIs played: 39
Pakistan wins: 34
Bangladesh wins: 4
No result: 1
This marks the third white-ball bilateral series between Pakistan and Bangladesh since May 2025, following previous T20I series played in both countries.
Fans are eagerly watching the match as Pakistan introduces three new players in its top order, signaling a potential shift toward building a new generation of ODI talen
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